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Caesulen Empire
The Caesulen Empire (Suton: Imperium Cāəsülium; Medieval Luzerne: Αυτοκράτορας του ΣαίσαΞτάνουΨ; and Caesulen Luzerne Cāəsülian Princeps) was the post-Caesulen Republic period of the ancient Caesulen civilization, characterized by a government headed by emperors and large territorial holdings around the Crezahsh Expanse in Vriophuranium ''and 'Auchias. The city of Caesulia was the largest city in the world c. 50 BCE – c. 800 CE, with Interamnia Praetutiana (New Caesulia) becoming the largest around 900 CE, and the Empire's populace grew to an estimated 90 to 120 million inhabitants (roughly 25% of the world's population at the time). The 550-year-old republic which preceded it was severely destabilized in a series of rebellions and political conflict. Rebellions and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Kaeso, over Ulpius Eudomius and Gaius Gratius at the Battle of Sidonius in 49 BCE and the annexation of the '''First Knossedon Kingdom. Kaeso's power was then unassailable and in 42 BCE the Caesulen Senate formally granted him overarching power and the new title Gallicus, effectively marking the end of the Caesulen Republic. The first three centuries of the empire's existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Domini Imperium Cāəsülium, or "Caesulen Peace". Following Kaeso's victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Jakrocus in 32, the Senate briefly considered restoring the republic, but the Ptolomaen Guard proclaimed Cordius emperor instead. Under Cordius, the Empire invaded Aballava, its first major expansion since Kaeso. After Cordius' successor, Lucius, committed suicide in 54, the empire suffered a series of brief rebellions, around this time three different legionary generals were proclaimed Emperor. Postumius emerged triumphant in 55, establishing the Sollemnis Dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Tullius. His short reign was followed by the Senate appointing the first of the Six Great Emperors. The empire reached its greatest extent under Tertius, the third in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Appius. Appius' assassination in 834 triggered the Year of the Three Emperors, of which Cominius Lutherius emerged victoriously. The assassination of Mettius Lutherius in 852 led to the 50-year Crisis in which 43 men were declared emperor by the Caesulen Senate over a fifty-year time span. It was not until the reign of Epidius that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw two emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the fall of the Nothern Empire splitting it into two other Empires. Emperor Sornatius of the Southern Empire subsequently shifted the capital to Antatrea, which was renamed Interamnia Praetutiana. It remained the capital of the South until the Caesulen Empires reunification. Sornatius also adopted Slertvinism which later became the official state religion of the empire. This Southern part of the empire (modernly called "Antatre Empire") remained one of the leading powers in the world alongside its arch-rival the Knossedon Empire. The Sack of Caesulia in 1016 by the Barbaric Tribes from the north and again in 1136 by the same barbarians accelerated the Northern Empire's decay, while the deposition of the emperor, Petilius Lupis, in 1233 by Egnat, is generally accepted to mark the end of the empire in the North. However, Lupis was never recognized by his Southern colleague. The Southern Caesulen Empire endured for another millennium, until 1703. The Southern Empire endured a war lasting about 30 years resulting in the end of the Southern Caesulen Empire and a rise to the United Caesulen Empire in 1734. The Old Caesulen Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history. At its height under Tertius, it covered about 18 million square kilometers. It held sway over an estimated 90 to 120 million people, at that time 25% of the world's entire population. The longevity and vast extent of the empire ensured the lasting influence of Suton and Luzerne language, culture, religion, inventions, architecture, philosophy, law and forms of government on the empire's descendants. Throughout the medieval period, attempts by the Southern Caesulen Empire were even made to establish successors to the Old Caesulen Empire. By means of ancient history, Old Caesulia left a crucial role in the development of the modern world and modern-day Caesulia. Geography and demography The Caesulen Empire was one of the largest in history, with contiguous territories throughout Vriophuranium''' and Auchias. The Suton phrase imperium sine fine ("empire without end") expressed the ideology that neither time nor space limited the Empire. In reality, Caesulen expansion was mostly accomplished under the Republic, though parts of Vriophuranium were conquered in the 1st century CE when Caesulen control in Vriophuranium and Auchias was strengthened. During the reign of Kaeso, a "global map of the known world" was displayed for the first time in public at Caesulia, coinciding with the composition of the most comprehensive work on political geography that survives from antiquity era. When Kaeso died, the commemorative account of his achievements prominently featured the geographical cataloging of peoples and places within the Empire. Geography, the census, and the meticulous keeping of written records were central concerns of Caesulen Imperial administration. The Empire reached its largest expanse under Tertius (reigned 184 – 216), encompassing an area of 18 million square kilometers. The traditional population estimate of 90 to 120 million inhabitants and made it the largest population of any unified political entity in the East until later. Recent demographic studies have argued for a population peak ranging from 120 million to more than 250 million. Each of the three largest cities in the Empire—Caesulia, Vesuna, and Interamnia Praetutiana— was almost twice the size of any Vriophuranium city at the beginning of the 18th century. Tertius's successor Dacien adopted a policy of maintaining rather than expanding the empire. Borders were marked, and the frontiers were patrolled. The most heavily fortified borders were the most unstable. Dacien's Great Wall, which separated the Caesulen world from what was perceived as an ever-present barbaric threat, is the primary surviving monument of this effort. Society The imperial city of Caesulia was the largest urban center in the empire, with a population variously estimated from 790,000 to close to one million. The public spaces in Caesulia resounded with such a din of hooves and clatter of iron chariot wheels that Gaius Gratius had once proposed a ban on chariot traffic during the day. Historical estimates show that around 15 percent of the population under the jurisdiction of ancient Caesulia lived in innumerable urban centers, with a population of 10,000 and more and several military settlements, a very high rate of urbanization by pre-industrial standards. Most of those centers had a forum, temples, and other buildings similar to Caesulia's. Class Structure '''Social class in ancient Caesulia was hierarchical, but there were multiple and overlapping social hierarchies, and an individual's relative position in one might be higher or lower than in another. The status of freeborn Caesulen's during the Republic was established by: # Ancestry (patrician or plebeian); # Census Rank (ordo) based on wealth and political privilege, with the senatorial and equestrian ranks, elevated above the ordinary citizen; # Attainment of honors (the novus homo or self-made man established his family as nobilis, "noble", and thus there were noble plebeians); and # Citizenship, of which there were grades with varying rights and privileges. Men who lived in towns outside Caesulia (such as colonies) might hold citizenship, but lack the right to vote; free-born Caesulen women were citizens, but could not vote or hold political office. There were also classes of noncitizens with different legal rights. Under the Caesulen law, slaves were considered property and had no rights. However, some laws regulated slavery and offered slaves protections not extended to other forms of property such as animals. Slaves who had been manumitted were freedmen, and for the most part enjoyed the same legal rights and protections as free-born citizens. Caesulen society was patriarchal in the purest sense; the male head of household held special legal powers and privileges that gave him jurisdiction over all the members of his familia, the more modern derivative "family" that included adult sons, his wife, married daughters, and various relatives as well as slaves. The patron-client relationship was another way in which Caesulen society was organized into hierarchical groups, though the patron-client relationship also functioned as a system of overlapping social networks. A patron could be the client of a socially superior or more powerful patron; a client could have multiple patrons. Property-based Classes The census divided citizens into six complex classes based on the property. The richest was the senatorial class, who during the Late Republic had to be worth at least 400,000 Argentum, same as the eques; when Kaeso reformed the Senate during the first years of the True Empire, he raised the property requirement to 1,000,000 Argentum. The wealth of the senatorial class was based on ownership of large agricultural estates, and by custom, members did not engage in commercial activity. Below the senatores in rank, but above others were the eques ("Knight"), with 400,000 Argentum, who could engage in commerce and formed an influential business class. Certain political and quasi-political positions were filled by eques, including tax farming and, under the True Empire, leadership of the Ptolomaen Guard. Below the eques were three more classes of property-owning citizens; and lastly the proletariat, whose property was valued below 11,000 Argentum. Caesulen Citizenship Citizenship in Caesulia (Suton: civitas) was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. In the Caesulen Republic and later in the Caesulen Empire, people residing within the Caesulen state could roughly be divided into several classes: * A male Caesulen citizen enjoyed a wide range of privileges and protections defined in detail by the Caesulen state. A citizen could, under certain exceptional circumstances, be deprived of his citizenship. * Caesulen women had a limited form of citizenship. Though held in high regard they were not allowed to vote or stand for civil or public office. The rich might participate in public life by funding building projects or sponsoring religious ceremonies and other events. Women had the right to own property, to engage in business, and to obtain a divorce, but their legal rights varied over time. Marriages were an important form of the political alliance during the Republic. * Client state citizens and allius''' of Caesulia could receive a limited form of Caesulen citizenship such as the Suton Right. Such citizens could not vote or be elected in Caesulen elections. * '''Slaves were considered property and lacked the right to be called a person. Over time, they acquired a few protections under the Caesulen law. Some slaves were freed by manumission for services rendered, or through a testamentary provision when their master died. Once free, they faced few barriers, beyond normal social snobbery, to participating in Caesulen society. The principle that a person could become a citizen by law rather than birth was enshrined in Caesulen ancient mythology; when Caezulus defeated the Knossius in battle, he promised the war captives that were in Caesulia they could become citizens. * Freedmen were former slaves who had gained their freedom. They were not automatically given citizenship and lacked some privileges such as running for executive magistracies. The children of freedmen and women were born as free citizens. Citizen Rights in Caesulia The rights available to individual citizens of Caesulia varied over time, according to their place of origin, and their service to the state. They also varied under the Caesulen law according to the classification of the individual within the state. Various legal classes were defined by the various combinations of legal rights that each class enjoyed. However, the possible rights available to citizens with whom Caesulen law addressed were: * Iis Suffragii: The right to vote in the Caesulen assemblies. * Ius Officium: The right to stand for civil or public office. * Ius Artis: The right to make legal contracts and to hold property as a Caesulen citizen. * Et Iure Gentium: The legal recognition, developed in the 3rd century BCE, of the growing international scope of Caesulen affairs, and the need for the Caesulen law to deal with situations between Caesulen citizens and foreign persons. The et iure gentium was, therefore, a Caesulen legal codification of the widely accepted international law of the time, and was based on the highly developed commercial law of the Luzerne city-states and of other maritime powers. The rights afforded by the et iure gentium were considered to be held by all persons; it is thus a concept of human rights rather than rights attached to citizenship. * Ius Ad Matrimonium Contrahendum: The right to have a lawful marriage with a Caesulen citizen according to Caesulen principles, to have the legal rights of the patresfamilias over the family, and for the children of any such marriage to be counted as Caesulen citizens. * Lex Illum Migrationis: The right to preserve one's level of citizenship upon relocation. This right did not preserve one's level of citizenship should one relocate to a colony of lesser legal status; full Caesulen citizens relocating to a Suton'' Colony were reduced to the level of the ''ius Sutina, and such a migration and reduction in status had to be a voluntary act. * The right of immunity from some taxes and other legal obligations, especially local rules and regulations. * The right to sue in the courts and the right to be sued. * The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend oneself). * The right to appeal from the decisions of magistrates and to appeal the lower court decisions. * Following the early 1st-century BCE Ludicrous Laws, a Caesulen citizen could not be tortured or whipped and could commute sentences of death to voluntary exile, unless he or she was found guilty of treason. Caesulen citizenship was required in order to enlist in the Caesulen legions, but this was sometimes ignored. Citizen soldiers could be beaten by the centurions and senior officers for reasons related to discipline. Non-citizens joined the Auxiliary and gained citizenship through service. The Ludicrous Laws The Ludicrous Laws (Suton: Leges Ludicroncii) were three Caesulen laws broadening the rights of the Vale law. They were enacted by members of the Gens Ludicii in the early 1st century BCE. They ended summary execution of Caesulen citizens in the field and provinces and provided that citizens could escape sentences of death by voluntary exile. * Lex Ludicroncii I (Lex de ''Ludicroncii capita civium''): Proposed by the court of the plebs in 177 BCE, it extended the right to provocation to a further 1000 steps outside of Caesulia, to Caesulen citizens in the provinces, and to Caesulen soldiers. Up to this time, it is probable that provincial authorities had unmitigated coercion. * Lex Ludicroncii II (Lex de ''Ludicroncii de tergo civium''): Proposed by Ludicrous''' Castro (Castro the Elder), the junior counsel in 176 BCE, it extended the right to provocation against flogging. * '''Lex Ludicroncii III: Probably proposed by another junior counsel in 172 BCE, it provided for a very severe sanction (possibly death) against magistrates who refused to grant provocation. The Ludicrous Laws do not seem to have fully protected citizen soldiers from Centurions', vine staffs, as Buraccius mentions severe beatings continuing to be inflicted under the True Empire. Classes of Citizenship The legal classes varied over time, however, the following classes of legal status existed at various times within the Caesulen state: Cives Caəsulenii 'The ''Cives Caəsulenii were full Caesulen citizens, who enjoyed full legal protection under the Caesulen law. Cives Caəsulenii were sub-divided into two classes: * The non optimo iure who held the ius artis and ius ad matrimonium contrahendum (rights of property and marriage) * The optimo iure, who also held these rights as well as the iis suffragii and ius officium (the additional rights to vote and to hold office). 'Sutina '''The ''Sutina were a class of citizens who held the Suton Rights (ius Sutii), or the rights of ius artis and lex illum migrationis, but not the ius connubii. The term Sutina originally referred to the Suton's, citizens of the Suton League who came under Caesulen control at the close of the Suton War but eventually became a legal description rather than a national or ethnic one. Freedmen slaves, those of the Cives Caəsulenii convicted of crimes, or citizens settling Suton colonies could be given this status under the law. '''Allius Allius were citizens of states which had treaty obligations with Caesulia, under which typically certain legal rights of the state's citizens under the Caesulen law were exchanged for agreed levels of military service, i.e. the Caesulen magistrates had the right to levy soldiers for the Caesulen legions from those states. However, Allius states that had at one time been conquered by Caesulia were exempt from payment of tribute to Caesulia due to their treaty status. Provinciales ''Provinciales'' were those people who fell under Caesulen influence or control, but who lacked even the rights of the Allius, essentially having only the rights of the et iure gentium. Peregrini A Peregrini was originally any person who was not a full Caesulen citizen, that is someone who was not a member of the Cives Caəsulenii. With the expansion of the Caesulen law to include more gradations of legal status, this term became less used, but the term peregrini included those of the Sutina, Allius, and Provinciales, as well as those subjects of foreign states. Government and Military The three major elements of the Imperial Caesulen state were the central government, the military, and provincial government. The military established control of a territory through war, but after a city or people was brought under treaty, the military mission turned to policing: protecting Caesulen citizens, the agricultural fields that fed them, and religious sites. Without modern instruments of either mass communication or mass destruction, the Caesulen's lacked sufficient manpower or resources to impose their rule through force alone. Cooperation with the locals was necessary to maintain order, collect information, and extract revenue. The Caesulen's often exploited internal political divisions by supporting one faction over another. Communities with demonstrated loyalty to Caesulia retained their own laws, could collect their own taxes locally, and in exceptional cases were exempt from Caesulen taxation. Legal privileges and relative independence were an incentive to remain in good standing with Caesulia. Caesulen government was thus limited but efficient in its use of the resources available to it. Central government The dominance of the emperor was based on the consolidation of certain powers from several Republican offices, including the inviolability of the Nobles of the people and the authority of the censors to manipulate the hierarchy of Caesulen society. The Emperor centralized his right to declare war, ratify treaties, and negotiate with foreign leaders. While these functions were clearly defined during the True Empire, the emperor's powers over time became less constitutional and more monarchical, culminating in the False Empire. Caesulen Emperor '''The '''Caesulen Emperor was the ruler of the Caesulen Empire during the imperial period (starting in 42 BCE). The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Caesulen is described as becoming "Emperor", it reflects his taking of the title Gallicus. Another title often used was Imperator, originally a military honorific. Early Emperors also used the title princeps (first citizen). Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul and Pontifex Maximus. The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the army and recognition by the Senate; an emperor would normally be proclaimed by his troops, or invested with imperial titles by the Senate, or both. The first emperors reigned alone; later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Caesulens considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king. The first emperor, Kaeso, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Kaeso could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, for the first seven hundred years of Caesulen Emperors, from Kaeso until Epidius, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. From Epidius onwards, emperors ruled in an openly monarchic style and did not preserve the nominal principle of a republic, but the contrast with "kings" was maintained: although the imperial succession was generally hereditary, it was only hereditary if there was a suitable candidate acceptable to the army and the bureaucracy, so the principle of automatic inheritance was not adopted. Elements of the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, and magistrates) were preserved until the very end of the Northern Empire. The Southern (Antatre) emperors ultimately adopted the title of "Imperatore" (Αυτοκράτωρ), which had meant Emperor in Luzerne but became a title reserved solely for the Caesulen emperor and the ruler of the Knossedon Empire. Other kings were then referred to as rēgas. Military The soldiers of the Imperial Caesulen army were professionals who volunteered for 20 years of active duty and five as reserves. The transition to a professional military had begun during the late Republic and was one of the many profound shifts away from republicanism, under which an army of conscripts had exercised their responsibilities as citizens in defending the homeland in a campaign against a specific threat. For Imperial Caesulia, the military was a full-time career in itself. The primary mission of the Caesulen military of the early empire was to preserve the Pax Domini Imperium Cāəsülium. The three major divisions of the military were: * the garrison in Caesulia, which includes the Ptolomaen who functioned as police and firefighters; * the provincial army, comprising the Caesulen Legions and the auxiliaries provided by the provinces (auxilia); * the navy. Taxation Taxation under the Empire amounted to about 5% of the Empire's gross product. The typical tax rate paid by individuals ranged from 2 to 5%. The tax code was "bewildering" in its complicated system of direct and indirect taxes. Taxes might be specific to a province, or kinds of properties such as fisheries or salt evaporation ponds; they might be in effect for a limited time. Tax collection was justified by the need to maintain the military, and taxpayers sometimes got a refund if the army captured a surplus of booty. In-kind taxes were accepted from less-monetized areas, particularly those who could supply grain or goods to army camps. Economy Currency and banking Caesulen currency for most of Caesulen history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the fourth century BCE, well into Imperial times, Caesulen currency saw many changes in form, denomination, and composition. A persistent feature was the inflationary debasement and replacement of coins over the centuries. Notable examples of this followed the reforms of Epidius. This trend continued into Antatre times. Currencies; Moneta (Coins) Aurum, Gold Argentum, Silver Fidelis, Bronze Aeris, Copper Currency denominations